BOEHNER CALLS OFF PLAN B VOTE

UPDATE: Boehner told the Capitol Hill press, “The House did not take up the tax measure today because it did not have sufficient support from our members to pass. Now it is up to the president to work with Senator Reid on legislation to avert the fiscal cliff… The House has already passed legislation to stop all of the January 1 tax rate increases and replace the sequester with responsible spending cuts that will begin to address our nation’s crippling debt. The Senate must now act.”

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UPDATE: Tonight, the House GOP caucus rejected Plan B. Speaker Boehner will be releasing a statement shortly. The failure of Plan B within the GOP caucus means that any vote on the measure will at the very least be delayed, and poses a serious threat to Boehner’s speakership overall. Radio host Mark Levin reports that the Boehner and his allies were threatening members who opposed Plan B with loss of leadership positions.

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Amid rumors of a growing grassroots opposition in Congress to Speaker John Boehner’s Plan B proposal, which would allow taxes to rise for all earners above $1 million annually, Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is speaking out against the bill. When asked by Breitbart News’ Kerry Picket whether she would back Plan B, Blackburn answered that she would not. Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) is also voting no on the bill.

Blackburn and Mulvaney join a number of Congressional Republicans who have expressed opposition to the bill, including Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS). But House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) continues to maintain that he has the votes to back Boehner’s play. At the same time, conservative groups have been massing against the bill. Boehner’s speakership may well rest on the outcome of the Plan B vote.